Kirkwood Breaks School Record; Others Set Personal Bests at Mustang Invitational

Jacob Kirkwood broke the Faith Eagles' school record with his discus throw of 46.95m

April 16, 2019

By Loretta Gamboe, Staff Writer

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa—The Faith Eagles track and field team had a strong performance at the Mustang Invitational at Mount Mercy University on Saturday. Despite facing bad weather conditions and having to leave early, several of the Eagles placed, and Jacob Kirkwood set a new school record in the discus.

Kirkwood beat out 37 other athletes to place first in the discus throw with a career-best 46.95m. Kirkwood's throw is a new school record and is currently the second-best throw in the nation at the NCCAA level.

Chelsea Ratliff improved her season best in the 400, finishing 7^th out of 21 runners with a time of 1:03.01.

Tanner Van Beek came in 4^th in the javelin with a throw of 40.65m. Evan McKinney placed 9^th in the 400 Hurdles with a time of 1:02.80, a new season-best. Jacob Stillwell ran a new personal best in the 400 with a time of 57.06. Josiah Brown finished 22^nd out of 52 runners in the 1500.

"Despite the weather still not being that great yet, there were some really solid performances. Several athletes continue to build on the hard work they've put in and continue to improve their performance," said Coach Sauser. "Overall, it was another great day. The team is always very supportive of one another and I look forward to the performances yet to come as we get into some warmer weather and start peaking these last few meets."

The Eagles will return to action this Saturday, April 20, at the Dick Young Classic at Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa. They will face competition from schools such as Cornell College, Graceland University, Grand View University, and Waldorf University.